Early returns show Gallego, Pastor leading in Phoenix City Council District races
Nov 5, 2013, 11:06 PM | Updated: 11:06 pm
PHOENIX — As of late Tuesday night, early returns have Laura Pastor and Kate Gallego holding leads in their respective Phoenix City Council races for District 4 and 8.
Pastor, a teacher, fifth generation Arizonan and daughter of United States Rep. Ed Pastor, reportedly leads by a narrow margin in District 4 — 51.76 percent to 48.24 — over candidate Justin Johnson, the son of former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson.
In District 8, however, Gallego’s advantage appears to be a sizable one — 62.47 percent to 37.53 percent — over her opponent, Reverend Warren Stewart, with 11,499 ballots counted.
Gallego, the wife of Arizona state Rep. Ruben Gallego, has previously served on the Arizona Commission on Service and Volunteerism. If elected, she would be the first woman to ever represent District 8 in City Hall.
According to the Phoenix Elections’ official Twitter account, about 4,000 ballots, which includes 99 provisional ballots, still have yet to be processed.
While that task will not officially conclude until Friday, Nov. 7, Stewart released a statement conceding the run-off election to Gallego.
Congratulations on your victory to become the new Phoenix City Councilperson for District 8. I pray that you will connect with all of the residents of District 8, especially those who have expressed to me during this campaign that they are tired of being ignored and feel like “second-class Phoenicians” due to the neglect of the City of Phoenix to equitably address the pressing needs of the underserved residents of the district, many of whom are people of color.
Let’s work together, Phoenix, for the great future that can brighten today and tomorrow for our neighborhoods, communities, city, the Valley of the Sun, our state, nation and world. Remember, it’s all about community, diversity amidst community. We have more in common with each other than not in common.
